"Ando, we didn't notice this thing till we were almost on top
of it because it was cold and dark. As far as the sensors were
concerned, it was just a metallic lump in space. Well, not any more."

"Oh, great. So any Cardie or Jemmie ship comes anywhere near
here is going to pick it up?"

Nitram looked back at him as the bridge lights flickered on.
"Yeah. But don't get panicky. It's not as if we're broadcasting
a subspace beacon or anything. They still have to come pretty close
to pick it up."

Ando checked his tricorder. "Well, at least it'll be
comfortable. Air's warming up and cycling. I'd say we can take our
helmets off in a few minutes."

"Good." Nitram grunted, hopping down into one of the
bays. The screens were lit up and active now, with various indicators
and lights and displays showing all manner of information. "What
the hell kind of language is this?" he muttered, pulling out his
universal translator.

"Got something?" Ando leaned over the edge of the bay
and looked down.

Nitram struggled with the universal translator for a few moments
before answering. "Nothing. The UT's useless, Ando. I've seen
some weird shit in my time, but this language must be totally
alien. I'm not even getting fragments."

"So now what?"

"Well, why don't we go exploring? I was kind of hoping that
the UT would be able to help us once we got things powered up, but it
doesn't look that way. Maybe we can find some other clues deeper
inside the ship."

"OK, let's go."

The two men walked down the corridor toward the bowels of the
ship. They passed numerous doors along the way, some of which opened
and some of which did not. With the lights on, the ship did not look
nearly as foreboding as it did before, the hallways and doors not
quite so menacing. But the vast emptiness of the ship was still
eerily foreboding. The tension slowly rose, until Ando became visibly
uncomfortable.

Nitram looked at him, noted that he was not passing out or turning
green, and then grinned broadly. "Thanks for testing the air"
he said, pulling off his own helmet. They continued walking in
silence, looking in room after room. Some contained supplies, some
led to what appeared to be equipment areas, all were devoid of life,
or even bodies.

"Real ghost ship, eh?" Nitram asked.

"No kidding." Ando replied. "Doesn't it creep you
out a little?"

"Not really. I almost got killed about a half-dozen times in
the Orion Syndicate. I think it's left me emotionally dead or
something. The only thing that gets a rise out of me nowadays is
holo-porn."

"Kids. You can't run around smuggling shit for the Syndicate
when you have a wife and kids. Too dangerous. Not a good lifestyle."

"Being a Maquis isn't much better." Ando observed.

"Yeah, well, it didn't seem that way when I joined up.
Nowadays, with the Feds calling us terrorists and the Cardies getting
more aggressive every day, it's starting to look like a dumb idea.
Hindsight is 20/20 and all that."

"So why don't you leave?" Ando asked, still curious.

"Why don't you?" countered Nitram.

"Kids."

"Same problem, eh?"

"Yeah ... my older boy is very sensitive and introverted."
Ando explained. "He's just starting to get comfortable with the
other kids at school, learning how to open up and talk to people. I'm
afraid that if we leave and uproot him, he'll go back into his
shell."

"Ah." Nitram said knowingly.

"Besides," Ando continued. "The Feds think we're
all terrorists anyway, so we'd probably end up in some kind of
rehabilitation colony. They might even take him away from us, put him
in some kind of government facility. Fuck him up for life."

Ando nodded, and the two men walked on in silence. They both knew
the next question, but neither wanted to ask it. Finally, Nitram
couldn't take it any longer.

"So ... what if they get killed in a Cardie attack? Isn't
that worse than a penal colony?"

"Yeah, but how likely is that? Who's gonna commit genocide
over a few worthless planets in the demilitarized zone? Even the
Cardies aren't that stupid. The Feds may have disowned us, but I'm
sure they would step in if the Cardies started making noise about
taking this to the next level."

"The Feds?" Nitram snorted derisively. "I trust
them about as far as I can throw them. I wouldn't count on those
bastards to cover your ass if I were you. That's why this ship is so
important. I think it was fate that led us to her, you know."

"Fate?" It was Ando's turn to snort derisively. "Don't
make me laugh. It was-" he stopped short as they walked past an
open door which led into a cargo bay full of androids.

Nitram let out a long, slow whistle. "Would you look at
that!"

Both men ran into the room, pulses quickening. "They look
like they're all powered down." Ando called out from the far end
of the room. "Hey, do you think this might have been a race of
sentient robots? Maybe this is the crew, in suspended animation."

There were rows upon rows of identical droids: tall, hulking
bipedal units with thickly armoured bodies. At the end of the room
were a handful of smaller, silver-shelled, much more fragile units.

"Who knows?" Nitram mused, almost to himself. He used
his hand phaser to cut open a control panel next to one of the
droids' storage bays. "Maybe we can power one of 'em up, and we
can communicate with it."

"Hey, be careful." Ando warned. "That thing looks
mean." The gleaming droid stood easily head and shoulders above
either of them. One of its arms ended in a pair of large cylindrical
protrusions which looked suspiciously like weapons.

If Nitram heard the warning, he gave no sign of recognition. He
was engrossed in his task now, and he discovered some wiring inside
the panel which looked important. He crossed two of the wires, and
there was a brilliant blue flash which temporarily clouded his
vision.

"Hey, you did something!" Ando exclaimed. "Its eyes
are lighting up!"

The Balmorran war droid, which had sat motionless for so long,
abruptly stepped out of its storage alcove and stood to face the two
men. While they chattered to each other in their incomprehensible
language, it identified them as human, but without any recognizable
rank insignia. It attempted to contact the ship's security network
with an identification of the intruders, and waited patiently for
instructions while one of the two humans moved closer, jabbering
loudly and holding up what appeared to be a communicator.

"This ... is a universal translator" Nitram explained to
the aloof android. "It can communicate using audio or visual
impulses." He stepped back toward Ando, hoping for a response.

"Strong, silent type, eh?" Ando whispered.

"No shit." Nitram whispered back. The two men stared at
the droid, and the droid stared back.

The android, meanwhile, timed out waiting for a response. The
security stations appeared to be unmanned, so it went into standard
intruder-defense mode. "UNIDENTIFIED INTRUDERS. SURRENDER AND
LAY DOWN YOUR WEAPONS IMMEDIATELY." it barked in perfect
Coruscant-accented Basic.

Instead of surrendering, the intruders seemed to become wildly
excited at this warning, moving closer, chattering in their strange
language, and holding up their odd communicator device. The droid
moved to level 2. "YOU HAVE 15 SECONDS TO DROP YOUR WEAPONS."
it intoned.

Still, they chattered to each other, holding up their
communicator.

The droid raised its right arm and powered up its armblaster,
pointing it directly at the two intruders. A targeting laser shone on
the taller one's forehead. "YOU NOW HAVE 10 SECONDS." This
time, the two intruders reacted in the expected manner, the looks on
their faces changing instantly from excitement to naked fear.

"Uh, Nitram?" Ando said quietly, staring at the droid's
raised arm with its stout barrel-like end.

"Yeah?"

The two men looked at each other.

"Run!" he hissed.

Nitram didn't move. He dropped his phaser rifle to the floor and
stood frozen in place, seemingly hypnotized by the sight of the
double-barreled gun pointing at him.

Ando looked to his right, and saw another door at the far end of
the room. If I can just get into these rows of droids, I'll have
some cover! he thought to himself. He knew Nitram
couldn't move with that gun pointed at his head, so he made a
split-second decision. He dove to his right, ducked into the next
aisle, and sprinted for his life. The war droid immediately followed,
roughly knocking Nitram to the ground with its dexterous arm and
unleashing a hail of blaster bolts from other arm. Ando frantically
wended his way through the rows of quiescent droids and ran for his
life, using the droids as cover. The rapid-fire concussive
chud-chud-chud sound of its bolts hitting the walls was deafening,
with clouds of superheated metal exploding away from each hit.

He ran past a few aisles and then dove left into one of them,
listening to the heavy clank-clank of the big droid's
footsteps as it followed him. He ducked out past the end and ran down
a few more rows until he reached the far end of the room. He stopped,
turned to the right, and could see the open door.

I can make it! he thought. He started to run, but at the
halfway point, a massive bipedal form lumbered into view at the end,
blocking his path. It raised its arm, and Ando dove between two of
the parked droids on the wall as the heavy blaster bolts blasted
chunks out of the floor where he'd stood. He tried to go back the
other way, but as soon as he stepped out from between the two droids,
a hail of blaster bolts was unleashed in his direction, forcing him
back.

Trapped! he thought to himself. The robot walked closer,
its heavy feet clanking on the deck. Ando squeezed up against the
wall between the two droids, frozen in terror. The clanking footsteps
became louder, and had almost reached him. He closed his eyes and
pressed against the wall, muscles straining as if he could push his
way through it. He tensed, knowing the end was near.

"Hey, asshole!" a voice shouted out. It was Nitram,
bloodied but alive, standing in the door and holding his phaser
rifle. He pulled the trigger, and hit the droid square in the back of
the head with a full-power shot. But the colour seemed to drain from
his face when he saw that his shot left only a small scorch-mark on
its armour. He backpedalled frantically away from the door, just
barely avoiding the red-hued hail of return fire.

"Ando!" he screamed as he scrambled to his feet.
"The other door at the far side of the room! Get outta
there!" He poked his head into the doorway and took another shot
at the advancing droid, but to no avail. Again, it left only a
singe-mark, and again, the war droid was completely unfazed and
answered his fire with a hail of blaster bolts.

I don't believe this! he thought to himself. He fumbled
with the controls until the familiar phaser overload sound started,
and then he threw his rifle into the doorway and ran, back toward the
bridge and safety. Exploration of this ship no longer seemed like
such a good idea.

He had gotten less than 30 metres away when the hulking droid
stepped through the doorway. It ignored the curious noise emanating
from the discarded weapon, stepping on it and raising its heavy
blaster arm to take aim at the fleeing intruder. But before the first
shot had left its barrel, the phaser rifle exploded beneath its foot.

The shock of the blast knocked Nitram off his feet, sending him
sprawling to the deck. He twisted around to look behind him, and he
could see smoke and flame shooting out the doorway.

Ando came stumbling out of the other exit and came over to help
him. "Phaser ... overload?" he asked between breaths.

"Yeah." Nitram said with a hint of a smile. "I
think I got him."

Ando pulled Nitram to his feet and was about to congratulate him,
but his smile vanished when he saw a dark form moving through the
smoke. His eyes widened in fear.

The droid's left foot was heavily damaged, frayed wires and melted
actuators turning it into a useless stump. It heavily favoured its
undamaged leg, and limped forward clumsily toward the intruders. But
its blaster arm was perfectly functional, and it raised that arm to
fire.

The two men ducked around a corner and ran, blaster bolts
exploding off the walls and showering them with debris.

"Haven't these people ever heard of a goddamned STUN
SETTING?" Ando screamed. "Beam us out of here!"

"I already tried!" Nitram barked back, still running. He
tapped his comm-badge again anyway, with no effect. "I don't
think the signal's getting through! It's these walls! We've gotta get
to the bridge!"

Nitram looked confused, but the sight of the limping war droid
rounding the corner behind them forced his hand. "This way!"
he shouted, throwing himself to the left. The storm of blaster bolts
seemed to fill the air, and shrapnel exploded away from the walls
once more. One burst was too close, and Nitram fell to the ground
screaming. A glowing piece of shrapnel had passed through his leg
just below the knee, tearing flesh and sinew. Flaps of crimson muscle
tissue hung loosely from the wound, oozing blood.

Ando wordlessly ran back to help his friend, hoisting him to his
feet over his cries of pain. "Come on!" he screamed, and
tried to drag him along for the ride.

The slide-clank, slide-clank limping footsteps of
the war droid came closer and closer, and Nitram wordlessly removed
his comm-badge, offering it up to Ando as the last gift of a dying
man.

"Take it and get the fuck out of here." he gasped over
his pain. "I'm done."

Ando ignored him and tried to pull him to his feet again, but
Nitram would have none of it. He pushed Ando away and fell to the
floor. He looked up at Ando's anguished face, and offered his
comm-badge again. "Go on, dammit!"

Ando took the comm-badge, but couldn't bring himself to run. He
looked frantically about for a weapon, an avenue of escape, anything
to forestall the inevitable, and noticed thick, heavy metal plates
protruding slightly from the walls just behind them. He looked up at
the ceiling, and saw the track in which these plates were obviously
designed to slide, and it immediately clicked into place. A blast
door! he thought triumphantly, running toward a red wall plate
and randomly punching buttons until the heavy plates began to slide
shut.

Ando stared at the plates, as if he could force them to close more
quickly through sheer force of will. The slide-clank,
slide-clank footsteps of the war droid were very close now,
and it came limping around the corner while the door was only half
closed. It opened fire immediately, forcing Ando to take cover behind
one of the moving plates. He took careful aim between the plates and
fired a sharp-angle shot through the gap toward the wall-plate on the
other side, hoping to keep the droid from re-opening the doors. The
panel exploded in a shower of sparks, and the doors continued to
close.

The droid continued to advance, but it was clear that it could not
make up the ground quickly enough. It was less than five metres from
the doors when they slid shut with a heavy thump. Ando allowed
himself the luxury of a smile as the war droid fired its blaster
uselessly at the blast door, producing only a muffled staccato
thudding sound through the thick wall of metal.

"Thanks." Nitram said, still grimacing in pain.

"Hey, just remember," Ando grunted, tearing strips off
his clothing to bind Nitram's leg, "this was all your
idea!"

"Don't remind me." Nitram answered. He cried out in pain
as Ando hoisted him to a standing position and began to half-drag,
half-carry him toward the bridge.

It seemed an eternity. Ando's breath was ragged, and his mouth
dry. Nitram was starting to see spots clouding his vision. But at the
end of the long corridor was the bridge, and safety. They could see
it now, tantalizingly close. Ando tapped Nitram's comm-badge, but
there was still no effect.

"We're almost there, buddy. Just a bit more." he said,
not sure whether he was trying to encourage Nitram or himself. The
sound of his voice echoed off the reflective metal walls of the long
corridor. With an extra surge of energy, they stumbled onto the
bridge and collapsed. He tapped Nitram's comm-badge again, and ...
nothing.

His heart began to beat faster, and he hit the comm-badge again.
Again, nothing.

"That won't work, you know."

Ando froze at the sound of the smooth, calm voice coming from
behind him. He began to raise his phaser rifle.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." the voice continued.
"Drop your weapon."

Ando's shoulders slumped in defeat. He dropped his weapon, and
slowly turned around to see a tall Cardassian flanked by two men, all
armed.

"I am Gul Lucet, and I'd like to thank you for the generous
gift of this scientific discovery." he said with a smile.
"Imagine our surprise when we tracked you here, and discovered
this!" he said, spreading his arms to motion at the
enormity of the ship.

Ando cast a glance outside the window, and saw a Cardassian attack
ship holding station behind his own. Crew's about thirty men,
he thought to himself. Looking around the bridge, he noticed at least
20 Cardassians, mostly working in the instrument pits. He cursed
himself for not noticing them until now.

He turned back to Lucet and adopted a defiant posture. "This
man needs medical attention." he said firmly, pointing at
Nitram.

"All in good time, human. All in good time. First, there is
the small matter of this ship, and how much you know about it."

"No." Ando said, his heart pounding. "I want a
medic to work on him first."

Gul Lucet's expression was mild. "You are in no position to
bargain, human. But very well. Medic!"

The Cardassian medic knelt at Nitram's side and inspected his leg.
"What happened to him?"

"He had an accident." Ando replied evenly.

"Ah" the medic said, seemingly satisfied by that answer.
He scanned the wound and continued speaking, as if to himself.
"Accident of some kind, damage appears to have been caused by a
physical object. No known weapons signatures." He began gingerly
working on the flayed muscle tissue, slowly putting Nitram's leg back
together.

"Now," Lucet said, "what do you know about this
ship?"

"About as much as you know." Ando replied. "It's a
derelict, been here for a long time. We managed to set off some kind
of automated startup sequence, and that's why we have power."

"And the crew?"

"No sign of them" he lied.

"I see. Well, I'm sure-" they were both interrupted by a
bright flash. To their mutual shock and horror, the Cardassian ship
had just exploded. Outside the bridge windows, a coruscating green
bolt seemed to come up from out of nowhere and strike the Maquis
Raider, destroying it too. They stared at the glowing debris for a
moment, but there was almost nothing left.

Lucet turned back to face Ando, his face mottled with rage. "What
did you do?" he screamed.

"Nothing!" Ando protested in a panicked voice. "Do
you think I would destroy my own ship?"

"Maybe." Lucet snarled. "Maybe you thought it would
be better to trap us here than let us take this prize!"

"I didn't even know you were here!" Ando shot back.

Lucet started to speak, but stopped himself. "What's that
noise?"

"What noise?" Ando asked. The Cardassian's ears were
obviously better than his own, but he could soon hear a faint sound
echoing down the long corridor. Drag-clank, drag-clank ...